US Signal Virtual Ethernet Helps Customers Do More With Less

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Grand Rapids-based US Signal Co. has been a pioneer of connectivity for more than a decade. The provider of data bandwidth in the Midwest, the company recently announced its expansion into four Ohio markets: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and Columbus.

“We have created technologies that make Virtual Ethernet Service affordable, simple, and stable — making a fully meshed network accessible from point A to B almost anywhere,” says Trevor Bidle, vice president of engineering for US Signal. “Virtual Ethernet Service allows our customers to control the routing and flow of their own networks.”

In 2008, Thomas Cooley Law School migrated from a hub and spoke arrangement to Virtual Ethernet Service to connect its campus locations. Virtual Ethernet Service provides Cooley with high-speed connectivity to each of its campus locations via US Signal’s backbone, delivering both private network and Internet service to each site.

“Cooley is the largest law school in the nation with four campuses in Michigan,” says Greg Colegrove, Cooley’s director of IT operations and communication services. “Before VES, connecting all locations was difficult and costly. With VES, it’s faster and easier.”

The advantages of VES at Cooley include:

* High-definition IP video conferencing. This technology allows an instructor at one campus to teach a class across multiple campuses, providing students access to courses that were previously only available at one location.
* Voice over IP (VoIP) phone service. This technology eliminates long-distance toll charges by providing four-digit dialing between campuses. Cooley realizes additional savings with least cost call routing, where calls to any of the cities where Cooley has a campus take place over its data network — eliminating the need for long distance services or costs.
* Easy network management. VES allows Cooley to manage its environment as one network. Faculty, staff, and students have access to private network applications and other resources, regardless of where they are located.

Behind the computers and cell phones that keep us connected are technologies that make it all work together.

Today, VES makes Ethernet connectivity possible for companies of all sizes and for all types of working situations. As the nature of work evolves to embrace mobility, people can remain connected and have access to the information they need when they need it.

VES allows customers to connect LANs within and between metropolitan areas. The service also provides customers with a wide range of connectivity options and is scalable to their needs. VES has been designed to help companies save time and money, while helping increase efficiency and reducing network costs.

With nearly 6,000 miles of lit fiber and metro rings in 21 strategic tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three markets, the US Signal optical backbone features Cisco Systems Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology and is designed with a SONET redundant architecture. US Signal provides services in five Midwest states including Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.